Version 3.2 news

We are working on the next version of CNCSimulator Pro and would like to share some exciting news with you.

In version 3.2, you will be able to completely customize the simulator so that it matches your machine! We have added commands to define your own G, M, and other codes by connecting them to your own custom subprograms or macros. These will run hidden in the background so that it looks like they are built into the simulator. You will even be able to add your own custom popup-help to match your codes.

We are also working on a feature that will allow users to simplify canned cycles into basic G-codes so that they can be run on any machine.

Stay tuned for more!

Delayed support

From Monday Nov 18 to Monday Nov 25 the support will be a bit slow due to a conference at cncsimulator.com headquarters. We will try our best to keep up with the support requests but we ask for your understanding and patience if your reply is delayed. At the beginning of next week everything should be back to normal.

Version 3.1 is here!

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Version 3.1 is finally here. You can download it from our download page. Here is a list of some of the changes and fixes done in this version:

  • Fixed problem with absolute centers in lathes.
  • Fixed problem with 2D view + lathes + R-arcs + abs center.
  • Fixed problem with turning cycles with certain contours.
  • Fixed issue with mill drilling cycle in incremental mode.
  • Implemented U and W positive/negative direction for G71.
  • Fixed bug with inches + tool reg + radius comp. Values were read as mm.
  • Fixed crash in SimCam when drawing guide circle followed by guide line and start pos.
  • Fixed issue with last G00 Z when postprocessing with a stock mtrl with non zero Z origin.
  • Deleted last unnecessary Z movement in the milling PP.
  • Fixed: Analyze function did not see tool changes when M6 was not used.
  • Disabled error for T0 tool calls.
  • Added alarm for arcs with incorrect endpoint.
  • Fixed crash when a firewall blocked traffic to cncsimulator.com.
  • Added keyboard shortcut ALT – U to open user CNC files.
  • Fixed some problems with the Analyze function (NaN values).
  • Changed the embedded PP for turning and milling so that F and S are reset at each tool change.
  • Fixed formatting problems for some G76 parameters in the turning PP.
  • Fixed formatting problems for $AddDefinedPart in cultures that uses decimal comma.
  • Changed the standard milling PP so that outputs T instead of DT (using $ReadTasDefinedTool).
  • Changed the Analyze function so that T0 does not count as a tool change.
  • Fixed a bug in the milling PP script regarding zero points.
  • Fixed Image Maker errors with file paths containing spaces.
  • Added Translate CNC code function.
  • Fixed problem with Heidenhain arcs in 2D view.
  • Fixed problems with Image Maker in cultures using decimal comma.
  • Fixed problem with Heidenhain arcs + inches + 2D-view.
  • Fixed error “Window could not be resized” at start.
  • Swapped M00 and M01. They where incorrect defined before. Now M01 is optional stop.
  • Added new $-commands to create stock material and tools at run-time.
  • Fixed problem with rough cut cycle, when it “missed” the programmed contour it went to -1000.
  • Fixed problem with DPI scaling on high-res monitors with non 100% dpi setting.Fixed alarm when inverting workpiece in lathes using inches.
  • Catching errors when reading simulator settings.
  • Fixed issue with Analyze function and lathes with custom material. Mtrl price was wrong because it read the emb. price.
  • Fixed so that M6 is ignored when having auto.toolchange in settings to avoid some problems.
  • Fixed issue with Analyze and G71 in lathes. Path distance was doubled.
  • Deleted “ugly” ET from examples and instead using $ReadTasEmbeddedTool.
  • Added file associations for .cnc files.
  • Updated a lot of intellisense popups.
  • Changed engrave function so that arcs with an extreme small radius is treated like lines to avoid problems.
  • Fixed some spelling errors.
  • Fixed a problem in the Mill Tool editor where shaft was enabled by default.
  • Fixed issues when pressing Enter in SimCam output settings text boxes. It closed the form.
  • Fixed some issues with SimCam dimension settings.
  • Fixed thumbnail issue with SimCam contour – rectangle.
  • Fixed issue with help labels in SimCam menu “Click start of line” for the endpoint.
  • Fixed problem with “Red Arcs” and inches.
  • Fixed issue with CAM – Engrave on contours created by Image Maker.
  • Fixed problem with Tutorial in inches.
  • Fixed issue with new arc check so that arcs with a radius less than .5 mm is ignored.
  • Fixed Misc – Insert command – Cutting for lathes. It always made a command for milling before.
  • Fixed SimCam issue with arc tangenting two arcs. It created a guide circle.
  • Fixed thumbnail issues with Import DXF, Image Maker and Frame Maker.
  • Fixed crash in SimCam – Analyze and fix…
  • Fixed problem when saving things in the Inventory browser while jumping back and forth betw. inches and mm.

Service interruption

Our servers had a major outage today and was down for several hours. That is not good. We understand how important it is for our users and customers to be able to use the software and we sincerely apologize for the downtime created by this outage. Our technicians are working on a solution to prevent this from happening in the future. Thank you for your patience while we are fixing the issue.

Huge documentation overhaul

We have made a complete overhaul of our online-help to reflect all new functionality of version 3 and later. Please let us know if you find any errors or if there is any information missing. We are constantly working on making the documentation better as we believe it is as important as the software itself. You can check it out using this link.

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New version is coming up!

We are currently beta testing our next release of the worlds most popular CNC simulator.
This version contains a lot of bug fixes, improvements and tweaks enabled by the feedback we have collected from you guys.

Here is a list with updates so far. Stay tuned for the release date!

 

Version 3.1

Fixed problem with absolute centers in lathes.
Fixed problem with 2D view + lathes + R-arcs + abs center.
Fixed problem with turning cycles with certain contours.
Fixed issue with mill drilling cycle in incremental mode.
Implemented U and W positive/negative direction for G71.
Fixed bug with inches + tool reg + radius comp. Values were read as mm.
Fixed crash in SimCam when drawing guide circle followed by guide line and start pos.
Fixed issue with last G00 Z when postprocessing with a stock mtrl with non zero Z origin.
Deleted last unnecessary Z movement in the milling PP.
Fixed: Analyze function did not see tool changes when M6 was not used.
Disabled error for T0 tool calls.
Added alarm for arcs with incorrect endpoint.
Fixed crash when a firewall blocked traffic to cncsimulator.com.
Added keyboard shortcut ALT – U to open user CNC files.
Fixed some problems with the Analyze function (NaN values).
Changed the embedded PP for turning and milling so that F and S are reset at each tool change.
Fixed formatting problems for some G76 parameters in the turning PP.
Fixed formatting problems for $AddDefinedPart in cultures that uses decimal comma.
Changed the standard milling PP so that outputs T instead of DT (using $ReadTasDefinedTool).
Changed the Analyze function so that T0 does not count as a tool change.
Fixed a bug in the milling PP script regarding zero points.
Fixed Image Maker errors with file paths containing spaces.
Added Translate CNC code function.
Fixed problem with Heidenhain arcs in 2D view.
Fixed problems with Image Maker in cultures using decimal comma.
Fixed problem with Heidenhain arcs + inches + 2D-view.
Fixed error “Window could not be resized” at start.
Swapped M00 and M01. They where incorrect defined before. Now M01 is optional stop.
Added new $-commands to create stock material and tools at run-time.
Fixed problem with rough cut cycle, when it “missed” the programmed contour it went to -1000.
Fixed problem with DPI scaling on high-res monitors with non 100% dpi setting.

Blockscript

Advanced users who want to do customizations like plug-ins and custom postprocessors should have a look at this.

In version 3.0 we implemented a built-in Blockscript editor in the simulator. Blockscript is a graphical language specifically made to enable customizations in the CNCSimulator Pro environment.

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You can download the Blockscript documentation from this link.

Students in Virginia

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Students at New Horizons Regional Education Center in Virginia are having a class using CNCSimulator Pro. They are in the Apprenticeship and  Adult Ed course learning a new occupation.

“Straight out the gate, I wanted to say I am very impressed with your software.  My eight students are doing nice work with the programs, making parts with milling, turning, waterjets, simulating, fixing programs, all-in-all a very positive response.”

Thank you Greg Sprock for the nice words and the picture!

Documentation

We have updated the online-help to reflect the new functionality and changes in version 3.0.
Let us know if you find any mistakes or anything that is missing. Thanks!

Version 3 is here!

We are proud to announce version 3.0 of CNCSimulator Pro! This version is as always based on feedback from our users. Thank you to everyone that contributed!

What is new?

Quick Simulate to next tool
You can now do a quick simulate to the next tool change. Press CTRL-N to continue to skip to the next tool change. Very useful when you want to focus on a certain part of the program.

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Lathe tools presentation
Lathe tools are now correctly presented when switching between lathes that has the tool coming from the front or from the top. This was confusing in previous versions.

Improved support functions
We have added a range of functions (available from the command prompt) that will help us give you better support when there are issues. Users can upload packages containing CNC code, SimCam projects, settings etc. so we can troubleshoot better.

DPI scaling
We have fixed some issues with non 100% dpi scaling in Windows. Using Windows 10 and version 3, it is now possible to run the simulator with other scaling than 100%.

Large editor Font
We have a new setting to enlarge the font in the editor.

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View whitespaces, tabs and line breaks
You can now view these normally invisible characters in the editor. This is especially helpful when communicating with machines via the serial interface.

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SimCloud
This is a big one! Users can now store files in the cloud. Files can be private or public. Share your work and reach it from anywhere.

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Make Portable
We have improved this function and it now also works for lathe CNC programs.

Define Lathe Tools
Lathe tool geometry can now be defined in the program just like as with milling tools.

Improved SimCam speed
Zooming and panning in SimCam has been made a lot faster in this version. Especially with large documents.

Improved algorithm for lathe grooving
This function has been improved and bugs have been fixed.

Fixed postprocessor bug
The standard milling postprocessor was not outputting separate feed rates for Z movements. It is fixed now.

Background bitmap stays
SimCam background bitmaps stays between starts now.

Hide/ show background bitmap
You can now hide/ show the background bitmap in SimCam.

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Improved contour finding algorithm
The function that is responsible for automatically finding contours in SimCam has been improved.

SimCam documents saved on crashes
If the program crashes, the SimCam document you are working on is automatically saved. You will be asked if you want to recover it upon the next start.

Image Maker
Another big one! With this new maker you can trace bitmaps and quickly create CNC code from logotypes, signs and/or images you find on the Internet.

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Favorite values
In the Cutting Operation Parameters for milling machines, you can now save favorite values. A little help to speed up work.

DXF Import
We have completely swapped out the function library used for DXF import. Compatibility with other programs and versions have been greatly improved.

Simplify
We have added a simplification function for DXF and SVG import to reduce the number of drawing objects. This conserves memory and creates smaller CNC programs.

Manipulate box
We have added a manipulation box to SimCam groups for quick and easy manipulations.

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SimCam view commands
You can now hide/ show the grid, endpoint nodes as well as highlighted arcs in SimCam.

Rectangle function
SimCam has got a rectangle function beside lines, arcs, circles and points.

New setting
SimCam has got a new setting to control how many objects can be in a group for it to have snap points.

Analyze and fix problems
This new function will help you find issues in a SimCam document. These can be very close endpoints that are not connected, doublets  and extremely small objects.

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Improved Layers panel
The layer panel now redraws much faster. This is especially noticeable when working with documents that has many layers.

Frame Maker
Another new maker that helps you create frames for signs etc.

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Selectable SimCam contours
You can now CTRL-click SimCam contours to select and drag them together.

Polar Array
You can now create polar arrays of groped objects in SimCam.

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Background Bitmap opacity
Users can now set the opacity of background bitmaps in SimCam.

Snap to Groups
A checkbox has been added that allow users to control if snapping to individual group objects should be on or off.

Grid snap checkbox
We have added a checkbox to control the grid snap faster. No need to open the grid snap window just for this.

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Huge CNC programs
We have added a new setting that will suggest the ultra fast backplotting function for huge CNC programs.

Right-click to delete
You can now right-click a layer in SimCam to delete it.

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New postprocessors
We have added customized postprocessors for GRBL (Arduino) controllers as well as for Chinese Laser cutters.

New machines
We now offer 29 machines divided in 6 categories.

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Integrated BlockScript editor
We have included our editor for BlockScripts in version 3. BlockScipt is a graphical programming language that allows advanced users to create custom postprocessors, interpreters and plugins.

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These new features and many more improvements and bug fixes are ready for you at the download page. What are you waiting for? Go grab it now!